When the rumours were flying that the legendary Radio Birdman were gonna reform, I for one couldn’t believe it until I saw it. After all, there was supposed bad blood between members dating back to the band’s break up in the late 70’s. Sure the Hitmen included the odd Birdman tune (Aloha Steve and Danno) in their set which was cool, but to have a fully fledged Radio Birdman re-union tour ?! THAT would be something ! And so it came to be, when in 1996, Younger, Tek, Hoyle, Gilbert, Keeley and Masuak stepped back on a stage to revive the legend and show the kids how it was done. They were phenomenal. I saw one of the re-union shows at Coogee Bay Hotel and the band really were on fire. This particular shot of the great Deniz Tek was taken at the ANU Bar in Canberra, Australia. He and Klondike formed one of the most potent twin-guitar assaults ever and if you missed out on the Birdman re-union, you should kick yourself. Later shows with replacements for both Keeley and Gilbert would follow, but would not touch the magic of the 1996 dates. This photo was also published on a cover of America’s Sonic Iguana Magazine in 1997. The ANU was understandably packed that night, but I was positioned at front right and had a vintage Canon 70-210mm zoom lens secured and ready to roll. I love this image as he is staring back at me holding his beloved Epiphone Crestwood – former owner Mr Fred ‘Sonic’ Smith. Dek just oozes cool – or should that be Ice cool. After all he was known as the Ice Man in a distant time and place. Another image to cherish!